


Stay Here Tonight

by alisha_winchester_collins



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Movie Night, Older Man/Younger Woman, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-10
Updated: 2015-01-10
Packaged: 2018-03-06 23:07:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3151724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alisha_winchester_collins/pseuds/alisha_winchester_collins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Caught in the midst of a rainstorm, Caitlin finds herself outside Harrison's house one night - a little wine, a movie and a blackout later, will the two of them realize that there's more to their story than they know? SnowWells one-shot!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stay Here Tonight

For Harrison Wells to say that it was a surprise at seeing Caitlin standing on his doorstep, drenched from head to toe because of the thunderstorm, would have been an understatement. He had not expected anyone to be out on the streets given that everyone in Central City retreated into their homes for safety as soon as the weather turned disastrous, and yet somehow, the young woman had braved through the rain and found herself outside  _his_ house.

"Caitlin? What are you doing here?" Harrison asked as he wheeled back to allow her to enter; even though he had been busy observing the rain all evening, he was still in his wheelchair which made things a lot simpler.

"Dr. Wells... s... sorry... about this... I... I had to... see... you." Caitlin's teeth were chattering and she shivered, rubbing her arms, trying not to get the house too wet as she walked inside.

He could wait to hear her reasons for showing up so suddenly, Caitlin was soaking wet and the fact that she wore only her dress from this morning at work didn't help her chances of falling ill. This rain may or may not have been the work of a meta-human, that was still debatable, but Harrison was not about to let anything happen to one of his team members.

"Well whatever it is can wait. We need to get you warmed up. Come here." Harrison gestured to the fire which was burning brightly under the mantelpiece in his hall.

"Thanks... and... I'm... I'm sorry about... showing up here..." She started to say to him but was interrupted in mid-sentence when he waved her off.

"It's alright Caitlin, I don't mind." He was being honest as he spoke, "There isn't anything we can do since everyone has gone home and I didn't have any work, you're more than welcome here at any time." Harrison didn't admit to being surprised at seeing her in his house, even if it was unplanned, anything was better than sitting around doing nothing as they all waited for the storm to pass.

Hearing the sincerity in his words, Caitlin couldn't help feel her cheeks reddening a little but simply assumed it was because the heat of the fire in front of her was finally helping. There was a sense of... awkwardness in the air around them, neither one quite sure what to say to the other, but Harrison had something important in mind and excused himself for a moment as he went back inside his room. When he returned, Caitlin stood up from the old armchair she'd sat down on and found that her heartbeats were getting slightly erratic when she saw what Harrison held in his hands.

"You should dry off and get changed into something that isn't soaking wet, before you fall sick." There was a towel which he gave to her, along with a pair of black jogging pants and a S.T.A.R. Labs sweatshirt.

"I... okay..." Nodding her head, she realized that he was thinking logically and the temptation of snuggling into warm clothes was enough for Caitlin to stop herself from protesting against the idea. She hadn't thought about this, but since Harrison had offered, she accepted.

"Use the bedroom." Harrison said to her as he folded his hands together; it wasn't lost on him that Caitlin's light pink dress had turned transparent and clung to her tightly, but he wasn't thinking about that. He really wasn't supposed to think about it.

Caitlin didn't notice that he was pointedly avoiding staring at her for more than a few seconds, but took the clothes from him and walked towards the bedroom, locking it behind her. During those several prolonged minutes, Harrison decided that he needed a drink and went to pour himself a glass of wine; on second thought, he also pulled out another glass for Caitlin, knowing that a little alcohol would help them both. He tried his best not to turn around and stare at the closed door, for in those minutes that she was in there, Harrison's thoughts were straying to all sorts of things... things that he really could not afford to think about... not about her. And yet, when he heard the door click open to reveal Caitlin dressed in his clothes, oversized as they were, she looked... _beautiful_. He wondered if it was the wine affecting his mind already.

"Thank you... for the clothes, I feel better now." Caitlin's voice broke through his reverie, she was starting to look like herself again; the color in her cheeks were returning and her lips were no longer blue from the cold.

"I'm glad to hear that." Harrison replied as he came over to where she sat by the fireplace once more, and handed her the glass of wine.

"I guess I should have thought about carrying an umbrella with me. Or wearing a raincoat." She joked as she took the drink from him. "And... well... I learned my lesson about  _walking_ in a rainstorm." Caitlin was aware that Harrison hadn't asked her anything, but she answered his unspoken question before he could.

Hearing Caitlin mention that she had walked in this weather to his house stunned Harrison as he turned around to stare at her, wondering why she would go through so much trouble. Surely there was nothing dangerous or serious which demanded their attention. Barry and Cisco had been unable to confirm any sightings of a meta-human and he was the one who had told his team to go home; spending more time at the lab while there was a chance they might get trapped again was something Harrison wanted to avoid, given how their last experience turned out.

"You walked all the way here?" He knew that the surprise could be heard in his voice, but Harrison was confused as well, Caitlin seemed to be full of mysteries which he found challenging and... alluring at the same time.

"No... not all the way from my house." Caitlin was facing him too and sensed what he might have thought, "I drove here. Which is why I didn't think about taking anything else. My car broke down about a block away and I walked to your house from there." She explained, wondering if she was starting to imagine that Harrison's gaze was lingering on her or maybe it was the wine.

"Ah... I see... well, you can stay here until the rain dies down." Harrison didn't need to think twice about offering her to wait, it was the only thing he could do to help. It also meant that he would get a chance to know why exactly she was here.

"Oh! I... I couldn't... I've already interrupted your evening by suddenly turning up out of the blue. I... I'll be okay..." Caitlin didn't know why, but the idea of being in the house with Harrison wasn't as bad as it sounded, and that scared her a little. She wasn't supposed to be here, not like this. Uninvited and... alone.

What she hadn't expected was for Harrison to reach out and gently grab her wrist just as she was starting to stand up. In that second, Caitlin could have sworn that her erratic heartbeats had returned and they had absolutely nothing to do with the alcohol; He really was staring at her, but the look on his face seemed hard to read. The two of them might have even been frozen in the moment until Harrison spoke once more.

"You haven't interrupted anything, Caitlin. And waiting here until this storm passes by is the only way I'll know that you're safe. You did say that your car is broken, I highly doubt that there are any repair shops open at this time of night to assist us." He sounded very calm and everything he said made sense to her.

"Okay..." She decided that there really wasn't anything awkward for Dr. Wells to suggest that she stay in his house for a little while longer and took her seat.

"Why don't you tell me what brought you here tonight?" Harrison asked bluntly, going straight to the point by being direct, it was at times like this when he couldn't figure her out.

"I... umm... I actually found something... and knowing that it couldn't wait until morning, I came over to give it back... to you." Caitlin confessed as she reached for her purse which lay on the floor by her feet. "These files were misplaced earlier this afternoon and I knew that they were important... so..." She drifted off, handing the pile of several folders which had been sealed over to Harrison.

"Thank you Caitlin. I do appreciate all the trouble you went through to get this to me." Taking the files from her hands, he didn't look at them as he placed them aside and turned back to watch the young woman in front of him.

Harrison did believe that this was the reason she had found herself here tonight; what she had returned was very crucial, but if there was one thing he knew, Caitlin wasn't being entirely forthcoming with her story. And he couldn't help but wonder if there was a chance for him to learn what that would turn out to be.

"It was no problem." Giving him a small smile, Caitlin hoped that her answer was enough for Harrison. She might have believed the explanation if it was completely true, but it wasn't and she didn't know what else to say; that the files were just an excuse? To hide the other reason why she'd come here to his house? How could she say anything when she wasn't sure what that other reason really meant?

Silence fell between them after that and for several minutes, Harrison was content in quietly studying Caitlin as he sipped his wine, trying to figure out why she really was here. There had to be something _more_ than just these files. Or perhaps he was hoping that there was something else when in reality, it was as simple as her returning his possessions? While he observed her, Caitlin couldn't help but feel like sitting by the fireplace all night wasn't going to work out and decided that it was time she ended this awkwardness which was still lingering in the air; even if she no longer felt it could be defined as awkward, for she found this... situation... pleasantly peaceful.

"You've redecorated." Caitlin voiced her thoughts out loud as she touched upon a simple topic, she had been thinking about saying something earlier when she'd first stepped foot inside the house. "I... noticed that things have changed..." She added when Harrison didn't say anything in reply immediately.

"Yes. I have redecorated; just a little. Everything is more spaced out now." Harrison answered at last, realization dawning on him that this was her way of breaking the ice. 

"It looks good. I like it." Speaking more to herself in that moment, Caitlin stood up as she started to walk around the hall, taking in all the new changes; it had been too long since she'd last come... for the first few weeks after the accident at S.T.A.R. Labs, her presence here was the only welcome thing as she had helped Harrison adjust to everything in her own little ways.

"Would you like a refill?" He knew that Caitlin was most likely remembering her frequent visits, and also could sense that she was starting to feel calmer, more comfortable as she settled back into that old habit.

"Maybe just one more, I don't want to be too tipsy while driving home. Not in this weather for sure." Caitlin grinned as she turned around from admiring the familiar showcase which held all of Harrison's degrees and other acclaimed prizes which he had received over the many years of being a renowned scientist.

The moment she passed over her glass to Harrison who was by her side, their fingers brushed against each other very lightly and only for a split second; but in that moment, Caitlin froze and she noticed his lingering gaze on her. The touch of his hand was soft and warm, which vanished as soon as he took the glass and went to refill it. She frowned when Harrison had turned away, wondering why she was thinking so much about... _everything_ about this night. What she didn't realize was the fact that it hadn't gone unnoticed on Harrison's behalf that Caitlin's fingers had stayed on his even after she'd given him the glass; but he decided not to say anything yet... she was still acting a little differently, he knew that much, just not why.

"No, we wouldn't want that." Harrison said out loud, more to himself instead of Caitlin, thinking that perhaps he should ask her directly if there was anything else.

Once again to his pleasant surprise, Caitlin seemed to have guessed what was on his mind before he could bring himself to question her motives for this unexpected visit; for when he returned with the glass, he noted the expression on the young woman's face and knew she was going to tell him more.

"Umm... Dr. Wells... there actually is... one other thing that... I didn't mention earlier." She started to say, her hands being careful to not touch his for as long as they had the last time, "I found something else at the lab... and I wondered if it belonged to you." This sounded a little ominous to Harrison but he was curious to know what Caitlin was talking about.

"And is this item with you?" He asked her, not quite sure where this was going.

"Yes. I do." Caitlin nodded as she walked back towards the fireplace, knowing that Harrison was close behind. She grabbed the object in question out of her bag and couldn't help but visibly brighten up when she revealed what it was to him.

What turned out to be Caitlin's real reason for coming to Harrison's house in the midst of a heavy thunderstorm was in fact, a DVD; not just of any movie though, this particular one was something special to her and when she'd stumbled upon this on his desk when she went into the office earlier that evening, Caitlin remembered being a little stunned to see it there. She wanted to know why he had this with him; the files were just an excuse to get here with a slightly more believable explanation.

"Ah... ' _Somewhere In Time_ ' yes. That would be mine." Harrison said as he took the box, a small smile forming across his face. "Thank you for bringing it with you Caitlin." He added as an afterthought, pleased to know that he had finally discovered why she was with him, at home, while the weather outside continued to worsen as time passed by.

"You remembered..." It wasn't a question nor exactly a statement coming from her.

Caitlin didn't know what else there was to say to him now that she knew the movie really did belong to him. She remembered casually mentioning it once, many weeks ago, maybe even several months, when discussing movies at the lab. Harrison had surprised her even then with his confession of not being one to see a lot of films and certainly not of the romance genre. And although the idea of having a movie night at S.T.A.R. Labs was hard to plan, somehow Harrison had remembered that this particular movie was her favorite; not only that, he'd actually gone and purchased a copy of it for himself.

"I haven't had a chance to see it yet." He admitted to her, a sudden thought coming to mind... but Harrison pushed it aside; things were already much too personal between him and Caitlin, she had fulfilled her purpose of visiting him, which meant that as soon as the weather cleared, she needed to get back home.

"That's good!" Caitlin exclaimed happily, "We can watch it now. There's no better time than the present." She told Harrison without any second thought's or hesitation; it made perfect sense to her, they were stuck indoors with nothing to do to pass the time and since she was there with him, she would make sure that he saw the movie sooner rather than later.

"Are you sure about this? I only ask because your car is still broken and you do have to get back home." Harrison was the one who paused for thinking, knowing full well that he was not sure with the idea.

"True, but weren't you the one who said that my car won't be repaired until morning Dr. Wells?" She replied back, "And the rain hasn't stopped yet... but... if I'm disturbing your evening then I should probably leave. Maybe I could borrow an umbrella...?" Caitlin realized midway through her thoughts that Harrison might not want her to overstay this welcome in his house and was vaguely aware of a sinking feeling settling in her heart.

"No. Not at all Caitlin." Surprising himself as he suddenly responded, Harrison rubbed his forehead, thinking that it must be the wine talking, but he had already given his answer and didn't back down, "As I said earlier, you've not disturbed anything, I would be glad to have your company for a while longer. We can see the movie together." He finished, having resolved to keep his word to her.

"What about popcorn?" Caitlin asked him as she tried not to let her beaming grin grow any bigger than it already was; the unusual feeling in her heart was gone and replaced only by excitement.

"I should have some left over in the pantry." Harrison knew that the longer he continued to stare at Caitlin, he was more likely to have a big smile of his own and while he'd stopped thinking about his fears, that was still something he wasn't used to.

"Give me 5 minutes. I'll get everything ready." Jumping up from her seat, Caitlin kept a calm pace as she walked towards the kitchen, remembering her way around with ease as if she'd been there only yesterday.

While she was busy working to prepare the popcorn for them, Harrison decided that he could save them some time if he prepped the dvd player; it didn't take him too long and just before Caitlin walked back inside the hall, he had settled on the sofa with both his legs resting on the coffee table, relieved to have the opportunity to stretch his muscles. In less than 15 minutes, they both were only seconds away from playing the movie; there was popcorn, soda for her and sparkling water for him. As eventful as the night had turned out to be, Harrison was starting to relax his nerves.

"Let's begin, shall we?" Taking the remote in hand, Caitlin exchanged a quick look with Harrison and once she saw him nod curtly, she pressed the play button and sat back to watch.

Over the next hour and a half, Caitlin was deeply immersed in re-watching one of her favorites as if she were seeing it for the first time herself; giggling and sighing but not once commenting on anything which would ruin the experience for Harrison. To his credit, he had been able to get interested enough in the concept of using hypnosis as a method of traveling through time into the past, even if it sounded quite ridiculous and there were dozens of loops and mistakes he could notice. All this he kept to himself of course, knowing that this was supposed to be a love story. It wasn't very easy to overlook all the scientific, realistic and logical explanations why the interpretation was not entirely accurate; but at some point, when Harrison turned his gaze away from the television and to the woman beside him, he found himself in an almost similar moment which had taken place onscreen when Christopher Reeve's character had seen the portrait of Jane Seymour's character; in this case, even though he had always been around her for hours and hours every single day that he spent with her for several years now, Harrison couldn't help but think that this was the first time he could see Caitlin in a different light... quite literally. She had sat to his right on the sofa, further away from the fireplace which still burned bright, but he watched as the red and gold flames cast a glow across her face, enhancing her lovely features even more and when she stole a quick glance in his direction having felt his gaze on her, he even saw how those brown eyes were glistening. Caitlin was gorgeous.

Shaking his head clear of all these thoughts, Harrison tried to focus his attention back on the movie, which proved to be much harder than it seemed. No matter how much he stopped himself, he couldn't help but lose concentration over what was happening onscreen because every time he had the chance, he would move his gaze to Caitlin again. For the most part, she didn't seem to realize what was happening once the movie reached its climax, and so Harrison was left with the opportunity to study her for a longer period of time without breaking contact; he was vaguely aware of where the movie had progressed up until the final act and yet, he was content with the current distraction of watching Caitlin and her reactions.

"What did you think?" Her gentle voice brought Harrison back to the moment when he realized that the film was over and Caitlin had looked over to see what his thoughts were.

"It was a beautiful film, I am glad that we got to see this together." His reply was honest and true, something he wasn't always used to; but with Caitlin here, things were different... more... normal.

Caitlin couldn't help but smile at him when she heard his comments and felt that flutter in her heart once again; she pushed that aside as it dawned on her that she was still a little weepy after seeing the last scene. It seemed silly even now, but there was something about the movie and the way it's story unfolded which made her emotional, especially how it ended on a bittersweet and yet tragic note.

"I enjoyed it just as much as I did the first time." Caitlin said, hoping that she was done crying; there was no need for her to feel so self-conscious around Harrison and yet that's exactly how she was feeling just then.

Whether it was unfortunate or fortunate for her, Harrison _did_ notice that the young woman sitting beside him was tearing up and not for the first time that night, he didn't really know what he could do to comfort Caitlin. This situation would be better left to Barry or even Cisco who would somehow either say the right thing or do something to help her; but since it was just the two of them, Harrison decided to follow his instincts. Much to his own surprise and defintitely Caitlin's as well... mere seconds after she fell silent, he reached out and wiped away her tears. As soon as his thumb brushed against her cheek, Caitlin let out a soft gasp; neither one of them said anything but in that silence, they were well aware of things which were being left unspoken. Harrison knew that he was treading dangerous waters by even thinking about her and a part of him might have known the risks of getting too involved but somehow he wasn't remembering that. And Caitlin knew by now that these feelings stirring inside of her were due to something much more real than just alcohol.

*CRACK* A sudden noise which sounded like a car backfiring broke through their reverie's as the entire house was plunged into darkness; Harrison immediately pulled his hand back and Caitlin turned away, grateful that her flushed features were hidden now. One quick glance outside the window showed that it was not just this house but the entire street which had lost electricity and there was no sign of the rainstorm slowing down either.

"I... I should... probably get us some light." Sensing the awkwardness building around them once more, Caitlin knew she had to do something instead of just continuing to sit there and think about what she should do in regards to these new feelings.

"Yes..." Harrison cleared his throat and mentally reminded himself to focus, "There should be some candles in the kitchen." He said pointedly.

However, before Caitlin could stand up and head towards the kitchen, she was met with an unexpected shock just then; whatever was the controlling force behind this weather seemed to only increase in its intensity as there was an extremely loud roar of double thunder followed by bright flashes of lightning, topped off by heavy howls of wind which happened to slam into an open window somewhere making it rattle. Each of these events took place one after the other in a matter of few seconds and that was all it took to startle Caitlin so much that before she even realized it, her exclamation of fright had led her to jump on the couch again and she was vaguely aware of the fact that she'd gripped Harrison's arm firmly as she buried her head in his shoulder. For several prolonged minutes, the roaring and flashing continued nonstop and though the fire still burned, it's light was slowly starting to fade. All the while, Harrison was trying to process what had occurred. He could hear Caitlin's soft breath's tickling his skin where the sleeves of his t-shirt stopped and his arm began; it was not helping him to focus clearly or even form coherent thoughts which seemed a little over the top for someone like him. And even so, he knew that it was because of this woman sitting mere centimeters away from him that he was thinking this way - she was different, an unexpected element which had surely caught him off-guard more times than just this one night. He couldn't quite put a finger to what it was about Caitlin that attracted him to her but it was there and not going anywhere either; the question remained, what was to be done?

Harrison's answer soon presented itself without any time being wasted as Caitlin calmed down from her initial scare to break away... and yet, she was still only inches apart, making her close enough to see the flicker of... desire in those blue eyes which never let go of its gaze on her. Whether he saw a similar hunger in Caitlin's eyes, he couldn't be sure of, because what he did next was something neither one could have expected. For what might have been the first time in his entire life, Harrison acted without thinking as he leaned forward to close the distance between them and brushed his lips against hers. He knew he was holding back from taking this any further but the second he'd kissed her, something awoke within Caitlin and she reacted instinctively, hands going around his neck as she responded back with equal fervor, deepening the kiss. It was over almost instantly for when Caitlin seemed to realize what she was doing, she immediately pulled herself back and stared wide-eyed at the man in front of her.

"Oh... oh! No, no, no..." Caitlin whispered to herself, trying to steady her erratic heartbeats and not look directly into his eyes. It was hitting her now that she had just kissed the man whom she considered to be a mentor, her _boss_ , Dr. Harrison Wells!

"Caitlin..." Harrison's voice was composed and quiet as he watched her patiently, knowing that he probably needed to say something to her. Soon.

"Umm, I should... I think I should go..." She managed to say out loud as she dared a quick glance, not remembering there was no way she could leave and actually reach home safely with the dreadful storm still going strong.

The second she got to her feet and turned around, Caitlin was stunned when she felt a strong and warm hand take hold of hers; Harrison was not about to let her go so easily. He didn't care if the rain was not over with flooding the city, whatever worries he had about getting involved were long past his thoughts as he concentrated on making sure that Caitlin didn't run from this... whatever _this_ was.

"Stay the night." He told her, it was more of an order than a request but Harrison knew that he wouldn't keep her here if she chose otherwise; there was plenty for them to discuss and the whole night lay ahead.

Three words. That's all it took for Caitlin to entertain the possibility that maybe what had transpired between the two of them was not a dream and had really happened. And it was something which _he_ wanted? And yet, the question remained... did she want it too? What did it mean? One kiss. One night alone with him. Could there be something more? Should they have something more? There were dozens of thoughts flooding her mind in those seconds that dragged by as she remained where she was, his hand holding hers, not like the last time when he'd grasped her wrist, his touch was gentle; he was quiet as he waited for her to say something.

"Are you sure?" Caitlin asked as she faced him at last, still standing her ground.

"Yes." It was an answer he might have needed to think about once upon a time, but not anymore; Harrison knew that they had crossed a line and there was no going back from it now.

"Okay." Nodding her head in agreement, Caitlin sat down and took a deep breath, knowing she had to talk to him about everything; not to mention that the sound of raindrops pouring on the windowsill made her recall the one tiny important detail that she had no way of going home with a broken car.

"We should talk... about what happened." Harrison wasn't exactly sure what that mean, he didn't quite know what to say to Caitlin. This was something he had not planned and yet here they were; he had let go of her hand once she'd sat down, thinking to himself why he had reached out like that to stop her in the first place.

"I know." She replied softly, trying to figure out what this all could mean. Maybe she was overthinking things and the kiss had just been a kiss and Harrison had simply reminded her that there was nowhere she could go tonight with such terrible weather outside.

Sitting there in the dark with only a dimly lit fire was oddly soothing to Caitlin and she wondered if Harrison felt the same; he had remained calm and collected during the blackout, something he was probably used to considering all the life threatening situations they always found themselves in when dealing with meta-humans on a daily or weekly basis. And in spite of herself, she'd almost jumped straight into his arms which seemed a little foolish now that Caitlin thought about it. The kiss... that was a different story altogether, and even though they had agreed to talk things through, she found herself wanting to put it off for now... more curious to know what would happen next now that she was staying in his house for the night.

"I need some time... to think, about everything." Caitlin was aware of the fact that Harrison had not said anything else in these last few minutes because he was giving her the time to speak.

"Of course. Take all the time you need." If he had been expecting a different kind of answer, Harrison's expression did not reveal anything; in truth, he was glad to hear those words from Caitlin because it meant that she wanted to think about this and would even give her some space.

It was only then did Caitlin finally look towards him, letting her gaze settle there once and for all as she took him in and wondered to herself if she would ever be able to know what really went on in that mind of his. Perhaps there was something she could get an answer to; but before Caitlin could say anything else, there was a flicker of light that filled the room and seconds later, the electricity had miraculously returned.

"Ah, that would be the backup generators." Harrison mused out loud as he observed Caitlin and thought to himself if he should say something else to her. Matters of the heart was something he never really thought he would ever get into, but all night long, the ache that was building up inside clearly meant more than what he believed.

"Maybe we should get some flashlights in case the lights go out again." She suggested to him, hoping that a few minutes to herself would be enough to think straight and not have her mind getting distracted by... other thoughts.

With that, Caitlin excused herself and headed for the bedroom. In the time that she was gone, Harrison chose to take the opportunity and shifted his legs from the coffee table, massaging them a little before stretching them across the couch which was much more comfortable. When she returned, he was intrigued to see that she carried a blanket with her but didn't say anything just yet. Only after she took her place at the edge of the couch did Caitlin finally let out a breath she had been holding and asked Harrison the one question that was playing on her mind.

"Why did you kiss me?" It was a simple enough question and Caitlin knew that no matter what she felt, Harrison would answer her truthfully if he really knew what he wanted. "Did... was it... do you want... this?" She added as an afterthought and wondered if she truly could answer that for herself.

"Well, we don't know what 'this' is yet, do we?" Harrison answered, the corners of his lips turning into an almost smile as he spoke. "Regardless of that, I think that we should take things one step at a time and see where it takes us. I kissed you because I wanted to; you're a remarkable woman Caitlin, very smart, beautiful, strong, loyal, dedicated and I find myself attracted to you." He went on to say, knowing that each word was as true as could be.

"Oh... umm... okay." Caitlin felt her cheeks reddening as she listened to Harrison intently and was aware that he could probably see her blush now that the lights were on again. Somehow, he had managed to render her speechless and she actually found that this made her think it was quite charming of him. "I like you too... I just... I'm..." Sighing deeply, Caitlin felt a little frustrated with herself at not being able to get the words out.

"Scared?" He offered a word to perhaps fill in the blank that Caitlin had left, "Our situation is unique and we can always talk about this in more detail tomorrow." Harrison knew why she was struggling with herself and figured that this way, it would give him time to think things through... properly.

"Yeah. I guess we could..." And that was that. Caitlin smiled a soft smile when she saw Harrison watching her, the temptation to pull him in for another kiss was still there but she also knew that if things went the way she thought they would come morning, then maybe waiting a little longer was okay.

Without saying anything else, Caitlin grabbed the blanket and lay down on the sofa as she snuggled into Harrison's arms, which wrapped themselves around her waist. He surprised her one last time just before falling asleep by letting out a soft chuckle and kissed the top of her head; the lights in this room were dim enough to cast a comforting glow all around and now that the fire had died out, there was only the soft pattering of rain to be heard. This night had been full of surprises for him and Caitlin, but knowing that she was here, sleeping in his arms was probably the best surprise. For a while, Harrison stayed awake as was content to listen to her breathing, feel her legs curling around his, see the smile on her face and knew that she was sleeping peacefully. As for himself, it was not lost on him that there was something very important which he'd avoided thinking about up until now and even though he didn't turn to look, Harrison knew that his wheelchair was still in the same place he had left it several hours ago. Closing his eyes momentarily, he reached a decision before he even thought of the question; he had been true to Caitlin when telling her about his feelings... maybe it was time to reveal the truth about one of his darkest secrets... and hope that she would understand why he did what he had to do. If the stories were to be believed then maybe love would be enough to get them through this to the other side where they could actually have a future together.

 


End file.
